Setting Up a Slack Channel

Integrate Slack with your Aisera Applications

The Aisera Platform enables seamless integration with Slack as a channel, allowing Aisera Applications to interact with users and send alerts directly to Slack channels.

If you plan to retrieve data from Slack conversations, consult the Slack Connector documentation for detailed guidance.

Create a Slack Application

To connect Slack to the Aisera Platform you will need to create a Slack Application. This can be done by creating the application using a manifest (recommended), or by creating the Slack application from scratch.

To create a Slack application:

Login to the Slack workspace being connected to the Aisera Platform.
Go to https://api.slack.com/apps
Click Create New App.

Create an App Using a Manifest File

In the Create an App window, choose From a manifest.
Select the Workspace to be connected to the Aisera Platform.

Modify the manifest.json file below:

Replace every instance of <tenant_id> with your tenant Id.

Customize the name, description, long_description, background_color, and display_name fields to personalize your Slack bot.

{
    "display_information": {
        "name": "MY-GPT-ABC",
        "description": "I'm Grace, your HR expert! I'm here to help you troubleshoot common technical issues!",
        "background_color": "#cf1717",
        "long_description": "I'm Grace, your HR expert, here to answer your Business Technology questions! I'm here to help you troubleshoot common technical issues, find answers to your IT questions, and guide you through simple solutions!"
    },
    "features": {
        "bot_user": {
            "display_name": "Grace (GPT-ABC)",
            "always_online": true
        }
    },
    "oauth_config": {
        "redirect_urls": [
            "https://<tenant_id>.login.aisera.cloud/"
        ],
        "scopes": {
            "bot": [
                "app_mentions:read",
                "channels:history",
                "channels:manage",
                "channels:read",
                "chat:write",
                "groups:history",
                "groups:read",
                "im:history",
                "im:read",
                "im:write",
                "links:write",
                "mpim:history",
                "mpim:read",
                "reactions:read",
                "reactions:write",
                "users.profile:read",
                "users:read",
                "users:read.email",
                "chat:write.customize"
            ]
        }
    },
    "settings": {
        "event_subscriptions": {
            "request_url": "https://<tenant_id>.chatbot.aisera.cloud/slack/receive",
            "bot_events": [
                "app_mention",
                "message.channels",
                "message.groups",
                "message.im",
                "message.mpim",
                "reaction_added"
            ]
        },
        "interactivity": {
            "is_enabled": true,
            "request_url": "https://<tenant_id>.chatbot.aisera.cloud/slack/receive",
            "message_menu_options_url": "https://<tenant_id>.chatbot.aisera.cloud/slack/receive"
        },
        "org_deploy_enabled": true,
        "socket_mode_enabled": false,
        "token_rotation_enabled": false
    }
}

Paste the modified manifest into the input field and click Next.
Review the configuration summary and click Create to finalize the app creation.
Navigate to App Home > Show Tabs and enable Allow users to send Slash commands and messages from the messages tab.

Navigate to Event Subscription > Enable Events.
Choose Retry to validate the configuration.
Click Save.
Navigate to Install App and select Install to Organization.

Create a Slack App from Scratch

In the Create an App window, choose From Scratch.
Set the App Name.
Select the Workspace to be connected to the Aisera Platform.
Click Create App to create the application. This will redirect you to the Basic Information window for your new slack application
In the left navigation menu, click Event Subscriptions.
Toggle Enable Events on.
Set the Request URL to https://chatbot.<tenant_id>.aisera.<top_level_domain>/slack/recieve
Expand Subscribe to bot events, then click Add Bot User Events.
Add following events:
1. app_mention
2. message.channels
3. message.groups
4. message.im
5. message.mpim
6. reaction_added
Select Save Changes.
In the left navigation menu, click Interactivity & Shortcuts.
Toggle Interactivity on.
Set the Request URL to https://chatbot.<tenant_id>.aisera.<top_level_domain>/slack/recieve
Click Save Changes.
In the left navigation menu, click, OAuth & Permissions.
Under Redirect URLs click Add New Redirect URL.
Set the new redirect URL to https://<tenant_id>.aisera.<top_level_domain>/.
This is the URL you are presented with when logging into the Aisera Admin UI.
Click Save URLs
Under Scopes > Bot Token Scopes click Add an OAuth Scope and add the following scopes:
1. channels:read
2. channels:manage
3. chat:write
4. groups:read
5. im:read
6. im:write
7. mpim:read
8. reactions:read
9. reactions:write
10. users:read
11. users:read.email
12. users.profile:read
In the left navigation menu, click App Home.
Under Your App's Presence in Slack next to App Display Name click Edit.
1. Set your bot's Display name
2. Set your bot's Default username
3. Click Save
Toggle Always Show My Bot as Online to on.
Under Show Tabs set Allow users to send Slash commands and messages from the chat tab to on.

Gathering Credentials

You will need to gather credentials for the Slack application you created to integrate Slack with the Aisera Platform.

Login to the Slack workspace being connected to the Aisera Platform.
Go to https://api.slack.com/apps.
Select the Slack Application you configured for integration with the Aisera Platform.
Under App Credentials copy down the following information for use later.
1. Client ID
2. Client Secret
3. Verification Token

Branding your Slack App

To modify or set the branding on your Aisera Application:

Access the Slack API page.
Select your Aisera Slack application to navigate to the Basic Information window for your slack application.
Set the following information under Display Information:
1. App Name
2. Short Description
3. App Icon & Preview (512x512 PNG)
4. Background Color
Click Save Changes

Install the Aisera App into your Slack Workspace

The following steps need to be done by a workspace member with permission to install the channel within the application in Aisera Admin Console.

In the Aisera Admin UI navigate to Settings > Channels.
Click + Add New Channel.
Select Slack and click Next.
Input the following configuration details, then click Next.
Field
Description
Channel name
The name the channel will be displayed under in the Aisera Admin UI
Client ID
The Client ID for the Slack Application created for integration with the Aisera Platform.
Client Secret
The Client Secret for the Slack Application created for integration with the Aisera Platform.
Verification Token
The Verification Token for the Slack Application created for integration with the Aisera Platform.
This will navigate you to a page requesting access to your Slack Workspace. Click Allow.
Ensure the Workspace you are installing the application to is correct.
You will be redirected back to the Aisera Admin UI. A success message should appear at the top of the screen.

Connecting the Slack Channel to an Aisera Application

Navigate to Settings > AiseraGPT.
Select the Aisera application you would like to add the newly created Slack Channel to.
On the App Details page, scroll down to Channels.
Click + Add Channel.
Select the relevant Slack channel.
Click OK.

Setting up a Slack Silent Mode bot (Optional)

This section describes how to set up a Slack application in Silent Mode.

Verify the following requirements:

Your Slack application has been set up following the guidelines in Create a Slack Application.
The reaction_added event subscription is enabled in your Slack application.

Adding the Slack Channels

Create two slack channels.
1. One channel is for the bot end users
2. One is for the agents
Integrate the two channels with your Slack bot using the Slack Application.
In the Aisera Admin UI navigate to Settings > Channels, then select your Slack Channel.
On the Channel Details window, click the Edit icon in the top right corner.
Under Silent Mode Channels select the Slack channel you created for your end users.
Under the Agents Channel select the channel you created for your agents.
Apply the desired configurations:
Configuration
Description
Make Conversation Public
When enabled, the bot will reply to users in the public channel’s thread if enabled. Otherwise, the bot will reply with a direct message.
Notify Channel when Answered
When enabled, the channel where the question was posted will be notified when an answer is found.
Handle All Messages
When enabled, the bot will handle all messages, regardless of the response confidence.
Show Multiple Intents
When enabled, multiple high confidence answers may be returned. Otherwise, only the highest confidence answer will be returned.
Use App Defined NLU Policy
If selected, all messages will have the same processing capability as regular conversation channels.
Enable Streaming Experience
When enabled, responses will be streamed and will be displayed incrementally. When disabled, messages will be sent all at once.
Remove Empty Blocks during Streaming
When enabled, empty blocks will be filtered from responses.
Press OK to save your changes